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Bermuda allows cruise ship gambling in port

Bermuda's Parliament has given the green light to cruise ships keeping their casinos open while overnighting in port on the island. Members of Parliament in Bermuda approved the Cruise Ship (Casino) Act 2013,

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Bermuda's Parliament has given the green light to cruise ships keeping their casinos open while overnighting in port on the island.

Members of Parliament in Bermuda approved the Cruise Ship (Casino) Act 2013, reports the Royal Gazette newspaper. Under the act, ships would be able to operate onboard casinos while in port, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Ships with more than 2,000 passengers would be charged a license fee for the privilege.

While cruise ships are typically allowed to open casinos only in international waters, Bermuda is a rare place where most ships visit for more than a day – including ships from New York and Boston that only call at the island on Bermuda itineraries.

Bermuda has experienced a recent decline in cruise ship visits – only 128 ships were expected to call this year, down from 161 in 2012.

Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell said the move to allow shipboard casinos to stay open would economically benefit both cruise lines and the island, the newspaper reports. He said the impact on local stores, restaurants and entertainment venues would be "minimal," since most cruise passengers return to the ship by 9 p.m.

Crockwell also vowed that his office would closely monitor the impact of the new law on local businesses.

Bermuda's Parliament defeated a similar proposal in 2009.

Fran Golden is the Experience Cruise expert blogger and a contributing editor of Porthole Magazine. She is the co-author of Frommer's Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while USA TODAY Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.